You are here

NSW & ACT

The green hills dip and rebound steeply, carved out by the trickling waters that run to the lakes and onto the ocean. Cycling through Central Tilba, you'll need your granny gears, but don't let that scare you away. Rolling hills don't come any prettier than they do in this idyllic part of Eurobodalla on the NSW south coast, and you'll want to see them. The Eurobodalla region of NSW, which runs from Batemans Bay south to Wallaga Lake, has been attracting people for thousands of years.

This rewarding 15-day, 1,200km bicycle touring route is a great option for travelling between Sydney and Melbourne. It combines the glorious coastline of the Illawarra, the National capital, golden countryside and the spectacular alpine views of the Snowy Mountains and the Victorian Highlands. The route is predominantly on paved road, with a rough section on dirt south of Canberra. Heading up over the mountains, this route includes a number of challenging climbs.

Some call it 'The Big Dry'. Others call it 'The Millenium Drought'. From 1998-2010, the areas I will ride through on this tour experienced what is considered the worst drought since the beginning of settlement. In a normal summer, the land in these parts is brown. The cured grass and the stubble of the harvested winter crops give the landscape a rather lifeless look. So it is hard to describe just how lifeless, wilted and dry such a place might look after more than a decade of drought.

Graham Smith is an experienced cycle tourer, but when he recounts this trip from Canberra to Sydney via the beautiful Southern Highlands and Illawarra Coast, he's a little rusty. It has been 22 years since his last multi-day bicycle tour and he's not confident he can go the distance in less than a week. Set with his new Thorn Sherpa touring bike, Graham takes us on an enjoyable journey between two of the country's most important houses: Parliament House and the Opera House, while also getting his pedalling confidence back.

This scenic route winds its way from the coast of northern NSW inland through Waterfall Way and the New England Plateau and then back along the coast, taking in some spectacular views. From the ocean to small historic towns amid the rolling hills and deep valleys of New England, there is never a dull moment. This route incorporates plenty of climbing and some dirt road sections over long days, however, days can be broken into shorter distances for those who would like to take it slower.

It's morning on the first day of the Easter long weekend and what a spectacular morning it is in Sydney; one of those days where the bright blue sky and the refreshing cool air cry out “on yer bike!” Even so, Simon and I take our time getting in the saddle. We're notoriously late starters and rarely ever rush our mornings, particularly on long weekends. So we recline into the couch with a coffee and a newspaper, turn on the radio and just chill.

There's not a cloud in the sky as Maz and I wheel our bikes onto the Balmain East ferry at Circular Quay. We push them through the old boat and squeeze onto the outside deck so we can look across to the Opera House catching the sun's rays with its luminescent sails. We're about to ride Sydney Harbour's Foreshore Loop, a bike route suggested by the city council. Here's what we thought of it.

It's still morning but the summer sun already feels like it's burning as we put our bikes back together on a patch of grass at Albury airport. We've just flown in from Sydney and are about to start cycling back in that direction.We're heading to Goulburn NSW, about 485km northeast, cutting up through the mountains of Kosciuszko and Namadgi National Parks. It's going to be challenging; there'll be days without anywhere to pick up supplies or potable water and there'll be a lot of climbing – close to 7,000m of vertical gain. That sounds absurd given Australia's tallest mountain Mount Kosciuszko is only 2,228m high, but this route will take us up and down and up, up, up and down and up and down again before it's over.

When we planned this route, we knew we'd be in for a challenging ride. What we underestimated was just how amazingly beautiful it would be; even getting caught out in an electrical storm, pounding rain, hail and gale-force winds couldn't wash-out our appreciation of what a lovely route this is. But it is challenging, with close to 4,000 metres of vertical climbing over the four-day ride from Mittagong in the New South Wales Southern Highlands to Young on the South West Slopes. The Caves and Country Route cuts across the Great Dividing Range, passing through National Parks, across the Wollondilly River and via Wombeyan Caves before emerging into the rolling countryside and through the towns of Crookwell, Boorowa and Young.

Cycle Traveller is the online bicycle touring blog for routes, maps, resources and news about cycling around Australia. Be inspired, connect with other cyclists and plan your adventure! Founded in 2012, the Cycle Traveller community is continually growing. If you have a story to tell, information to share or a question to ask, please contact us. You can share information via our forum, or send us an email. Happy riding!